No es demasiado temprano para preparar sus impuestos! Hispanic Unity, organizacion dedicada a prestar servicios sociales a la comunidad, ofrece gratuitamente ayuda en el proceso de declaracion de impuestos a los residentes de medianos y bajos ingresos del condado de Broward. A traves del progama  de Asistencia Voluntaria del Impuesto sobre la Renta, auspiciado por por el IRS, el servicio esta orientado a ayudar a personas que obtuvieron ingresos menores de $49,000 el ano pasado.

El objetivo del programa es educar a las personas en el tema de declaracion de impuestos y ayudar a que en muchos casos las personas obtengan retribuciones, incluyendo devoluciones en efectivo (Earned Income Tax Credit-EITC).

El ano pasado casi 3,000 residentes del condado de Broward se beneficiaron de este servicio, que logro reintegros de #3.9 millones para los contribuyentes. Desde su creacion hace 8 anos, el programa ha atendido mas de 18,000 personas y ha retornado $23.3 millones a la comunidad.

Para mayor informacion puede dirigirse a la sede principal:

Casa San Juan Educational Center

5811 Johnson St, Hollywood

Lunes a Jueves 4:00-9:00pm

Sabados 9:00am-12:00pm

(954) 964-8884

Fuente: El Sentinel. 22Enero-28 Enero 2011. Aurelio Moreno

The Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office hosts a series of community outreach events each month throughout Broward County.  Deputy Appraisers will be available to assist with Homestead, Senior and other property tax exemption applications, as well as answer questions on property taxes.  We are also accepting applications for Portability.  The outreach program is designed to provide convenient and accessible service to the residents of Broward County.  All outreach events listed below are open to the public.

  Documents required to file a Homestead Exemption include:

• A current Florida driver’s license or Florida identification card, and
• A current voter registration card or declaration of domicile
• Non-US citizens must also provide proof of permanent residency.

 Qualified residents 65 years of age or older as of January 1, 2011 may also apply for the additional Senior Exemption. Eligible seniors must have a total household adjusted gross income not to exceed $26,203.  Documents required for the Senior Exemption include a 2010 income tax return or, if one does not file income taxes, a copy of the 2010 Social Security 1099 Form.

 You still have time to file if you forgot to file for a 2011 Homestead Exemption, Widow/Widower Exemption, Disability Exemption, Portability, or other exemption. Simply contact us to complete your application by the September 19, 2011 deadline.

 For further information please visit our website at www.bcpa.net or contact the Outreach Department by phone at 954.357.5579 or email at kbrown@bcpa.net.  

February 2011 Schedule 

Tuesday, February 1                          9:00 AM –  11:00 AM              Hallandale Community & Cultural Center, 410 S. 3^rd St, Hallandale Beach

11:30 AM –    1:00 PM            Oakland Park City Hall, 3650 NE 12 Ave, Oakland

Wednesday, February 2                    11:30 AM –    1:00 PM            Pompano Beach City Hall, 100 W Atlantic Blvd

                                                12:00 PM –    2:00 PM            Plantation Outreach, 1 N University Dr. Room 5202B, Plantation

                                                4:30 PM –    6:00 PM              Bonaventure Town Center, 16690 Saddle Club Rd, Weston

Thursday, February 3                        11:30 AM –   1:00 PM             Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Blvd

Monday, February 7                          10:30 AM – 12:00 PM             NW Focal Point, 6009 NW 10 St Margate

                                                            11:30 AM –   1:00 PM             Lauderdale by the Sea Jarvis Hall, 4501 Ocean Dr  

                                                            4:30 PM –   6:00 PM               Weston Regional Park, 20200 Saddle Club Rd Weston 33327

Tuesday, February 8                          10:30 AM – 12:30 PM             Pembroke Pines City Hall, 10100 Pines Blvd

Wednesday, February 9                    11:30 AM –    1:00 PM            Pompano Beach City Hall, 100 W Atlantic Blvd

                                                            12:00 PM –    2:00 PM            Plantation Outreach, 1 N University Dr. Room 5202B, Plantation

            3:00 PM –    5:00 PM              Northwest Regional Library, 3151 University Dr Coral Spring

Thursday, February 10                     11:30 AM –  1:00 PM               Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Blvd

                                                                                4:30 PM –   6:00 PM               Coral Springs City Hall, 9551 W Sample Rd, Coral Springs

Friday, February 11                           10:00 AM –  11:30 AM            Sunrise Senior Center, 10650 W Oakland Park Blvd

Monday, February 14                        9:00 AM –  11:00 AM              Lighthouse Point, Doreen Gauthier Library, 2200 NE 38 St

                                                            11:30 AM –    1:00 PM            Miramar City Hall, 2300 Civic Center                                               

Tuesday, February 15                        10:00 AM – 11:30 AM             Cooper City Community Center, 9000 SW 50 Pl, Cooper City

                                                            11:30 AM –   1:00 PM             Deerfield Beach City Hall, 150 NE 2 Ave

                                                                                4:00 PM –   6:00 PM               Lauderdale Lakes Multipurpose Center, 4340 NW 36 St, Lauderdale Lakes

Wednesday, February 16                  11:30 AM –  1:00 PM              Pompano Beach City Hall, 100 W. Atlantic Blvd

                                                            12:00 PM –  2:00 PM              Plantation Outreach, 1 N University Dr. Room 5202B, Plantation,

Thursday, February 17                      11:30 AM –  1:00 PM              Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Blvd

Tuesday, February 22                        10:00 AM –  12:00 PM            Coconut Creek City Hall, 4800 W Copans Rd,

                                                            4:30 PM –    6:00 PM              Tamarac Community Center, 8601 Commercial Blvd, Tamarac

Wednesday, February 23                  11:30 AM –  1:00 PM              Pompano Beach City Hall, 100 W. Atlantic Blvd

                                                            12:00 PM – 2:00 PM               Plantation Outreach, 1 N University Dr Room 2502B

Thursday, February 24                      11:30 AM –  1:00 PM              Hollywood City Hall, 2600 Hollywood Blvd

Friday, February 25                           10:00 AM – 11:30 AM             Beach Community Center, 3351 NE 33 Ave, Ft Lauderdale

Saturday, February 26                      12:30 PM –  5:00 PM              Butterfly Festival, Sabal Pines Park, 5005 NW 39 Ave, Coconut Creek

Monday, February 28                        11:30 AM –  1:00 PM              Lauderhill City Hall, 5581 W Oakland Park Blvd

If you would like to have someone from our office meet with taxpayers at an upcoming meeting of your condo/homeowners or civic association, please contact Community Outreach Coordinator Kelly Brown at 954.357.6035 or kbrown@bcpa.net .  The full outreach calendar can be viewed at www.bcpa.net/events.asp. 

Kelly M. Brown, CFE, MPA

Community Outreach Supervisor

Office of Lori Parrish, CFA

Broward County Property Appraiser

 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 111

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301

Phone: 954.357.6035

Fax: 954.357.8474

www.bcpa.net

Dine Out Lauderdale

At this time of the year there is a good opportunity to enjoy good food, at good restaurants, at an attractive price…Isn’t that sound good especially at this challenging times?

Dine Out Lauderdale sponsord by American Express give us the chance to eat a three course meal (entree, main course and dessert) for $35 fixed plus taxes and tips.

This event takes place in October and runs up to November 11. There are 38 restaurants participating in Ft Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Lighthouse Point, Pompano Beach, Weston and Wilton manors. For more details go to http://www.sunny.org/restaurants/

With mortgage interest rates at historical lows many homeowners ask themselves whether or not they should refinance. This is assuming those homeowners have equity on their homes.

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal claims that a number of homeowners follow simplistic advice and incorrect figures when making a decision to refinance. One of this simplistic  advice is the 1% rule which claims that one should refinance when the new rate is 1% lower than the current loan rate. According to the WSJ people who follow the 1% rule could have refinanced 5 or 6 times in the last 15 years paying so much fees that the savings could have disappeared, since it is important to take into consideration that refinancing would cost between 3% and 6% of the balance of the mortgage due to a number of legal and financial fees.  Homeowners need to take into account a number of factors such as the time they plan to stay in their property, property taxes and how much time it would take to recover the cost of refinancing before making the decision to refinance.

Broward county residents now have three alternatives in their commute to Downtown Miami using the express lane in the I-95:

1. Pembroke Pines 95 Commuter Express Bus.  This service will run approximately every thirty minutes on weekdays during morning and afternoon peak travel periods. Southbound buses will depart from Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road starting at 5:45 a.m. until 8:45 a.m. and from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Additional departure locations are at Pines Blvd/University Drive, Hollywood Blvd./US441 and Hollywood Blvd and the Tri-Rail Station. Northbound buses will depart from the Miami-Dade Government Center Complex from 6 a.m. until 8 a.m. and from 3:45 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. Weston residents could drive down to Pembroke Pines or use Route 23 Bus to connect to this system.

2. Ft. Lauderdale Tri-Rail I-95 Commuter Express Bus.  This service will run approximately every 15 minutes during weekday rush hours.  Southbound buses depart from 5:45 until 8:45 a.m  and 4:42 until 5:57 p.m. and Northbound buses depart 6:17 until 7:58 a.m. and from 3:43 until 6:53 p.m.

3. Hollywood I-95 Commuter Express Bus.  This service will run approximately every 15 minutes from the Sheridan Street Tri-Rail Station.  Southbound buses depart from 5:45 until 8:45 a.m. and from 4:42 until 5:53 p.m.  Northbound buses depart from 6:28 until 7:58 a.m. and from 4:18 until 7:18 p.m.

There is free parking at all 95 express bus park-n-ride lots.

Fares are:

$2.35 Premium Bus Fare for a one-way trip
 $1.15 Reduced Premium Bus Fare for a one-way trip for persons 65 years and over

 $23.50 Premium 10-Ride Bus Pass
 $85 Premium 31-Day Bus Pass

The uncertainty surrounding the loss of Weston’s only scheduled bus service is over.  It seems that the protest of many of the residents of Weston, the business community and the Weston City Council allowed the route to continue, but with a reduced schedule.

Route 23, Weston’s sole source of public transportation that connects Weston, via Weston Road with the Cities of Sunrise and Pembroke Pines will continue to operate, but starting October 31, the Broward County Transit will discontinue service on Saturdays and Sundays and will reduce weekday service to the hours of 6-10 a.m. and 3-7 p.m.  Weekday peak frequency is being reduced from 40 to 60 minutes.

Route 23 main points are Pembroke Lakes Mall, Academic Village, Weston Road and Griffin Rd, Weston Road and SR 84 and Sawgrass Mills Mall.

Broward County Transit is also increasing county-wide fares from $1.50 to $1.75 and 31 day Adult Pass from $52 to $58

Weston’s recent and costly investment on nice looking and very convenient bus stops along Weston Road has been saved!!

357 Lakeview Dr #102

Very well kept condo in Weston-Bonaventure. Two Bedrooms, 2 Baths. This is a short-sale. Buyer just walked out! We need a contract to continue the process with the bank. Bank is asking $100,000. This is a good opportunity to live in so appreciated City of Weston or as an Investment.

Please check MLS for details:

F1052651 RE2 Detail View

THE CITY OF WESTON KICKS OFF
2010/2011

FREE MOVIES IN THE PARK SERIES

The City of Weston is kicking off its 2010/11 FREE Moonlight Movies in the Park series on Saturday, October 2^nd at 8:00 p.m. in the Weston Regional Park.  A series of seven movies, once monthly, through April will be shown. 

 On Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 8:00 p.m., “Alvin and the Chipmunks 2” will be playing at Weston Regional Park. This is a FREE event for everyone. The film will be projected onto a giant inflatable screen on the event stage inside the park.

 The world famous singing pre-teen chipmunk trio returns to contend with the pressures of school, celebrity status and a rival female music group known as The Chipettes.

 Bring lawn chairs or blankets for a fun and relaxing night out. Kids under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The event stage is located in the Weston Regional Park, 20200 Saddle Club Road. For more information call the Weston Community Center at 954-389-4321.

The Federal Housing Administration will introduce changes to its policy regarding mortgage insurance. Changes will be effective October 4, 2010.

Basically the changes are:

1)Higher monthly insurance premiums.

2)Reduction of the upfront fee from 2.25% to 1% of the mortgage amount.

This is the time for buyers to determine the convenience of locking on a lower premium before October 4.

In the case of a mortgage of $193,000, insurance premium will increase to $148 from the current $88, according to Gibran Nichols, president of CMPS. In 10 years the new figure will represent an additional cost of $7,000 in insurance premiums payments, much more than the saving of $2,400 obtained from the reduction of the upfront fee.

The decision will depend on the intention of the homebuyer. If homebuyer wants to live in the property for a long time, then he/she should consider locking on the current monthly premiums. If the intention is to live in the property for less than three years, then it would be convenient to wait for the new rules to become effective.

Source: El Sentinel. The Wall Street Journal.

I think this article from Keeping Current Matters deserves reposting it!!

Here it goes!!

by The KCM Crew on September 14, 2010 ·

There are going to be some tough headlines written about the housing market over the next several months. They may create apprehension and in some cases outright fear. The good news is these headlines will not reflect what is actually taking place in real estate. Some in the industry say we should just ignore this media blitz of problematic stories. That would be similar to trying to ignore a growling creature lurking in the shadows in the corner of the room. Instead, we want to shine a bright light into that corner to honestly evaluate how dangerous the creature actually is.

PROBABLE HEADLINE: Sales Plummeting. Housing Market Crashing

THE FACTS: The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Sales Report is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed.

The pending sales reports covering September, October and November will be UGLY. The reason is that the houses going into contract in those months this year will be compared to the same months last year. In 2009, sales were skyrocketing as we headed toward the original termination of the Homebuyers’ Tax Credit on November 30. It will appear as though this year’s sales fell off a cliff in comparison. The headlines will be brutal.

Actually, the tax credit just pulled sales forward. Last fall and winter, pending sales dropped dramatically after November 30. Over the next six months, approximately the same number of homes will go into contract as did last year during this period. They will just be spread more evenly over the six months.

The National Association of Realtors’ Existing Home Sales Report is based on home closings. The extended tax credit expired on April 30 this year. Like last year, the tax credit pulled demand forward, this time from the summer months. That left a vacuum of homes going into contract during this past summer. That vacuum will create a lack of closed sales throughout the next few months.

Actual sales will be approximately the same as last year. However, because the tax credit moved sales into different time periods, both the pending sales reports and the existing sales reports will appear very weak over the next few months.

The Bottom Line

The headlines will be reporting ‘doom & gloom’. In reality, the market will be no worse than last year. There will be no reason to fear the creature in the corner. It will be a figment of a misinformed media’s imagination.